


put the emphasis on the evidence

by mysilenceknot



Series: 'cause I swore you had your hand in this too [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Coffee Shops, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 18:27:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15467373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysilenceknot/pseuds/mysilenceknot
Summary: Barry hadn't thought this far ahead. All he'd been going for was the opportunity to gloat and see her in a moment outside where she didn't have all control. But now that she'd asked…“I have some questions.”“One,” she responded with a flat voice.





	put the emphasis on the evidence

**Author's Note:**

> I've been thinking about writing this for a while but then my friend's fic prompt fell in line with this story. There are so many other Wither/Red Streak fics I have in mind so it made sense for me to turn this into a series.  
> Title comes from [The Truth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0TQTq-J_oU) by Relient K.

Logically they should have crossed paths before. Yes, they lived in a city, but for whatever reason Barry hadn't managed to see her outside of costume (in public). 

Until now. 

Barry had been enjoying his lunch break. He had a meeting with a potential lab intern in a bit over an hour, so he took his sweet, sweet time wandering. But right before he could make it to the restaurant he always found himself going to, he spotted Wither sitting outside a coffee shop.

She’d seen him as a civilian many times before. At last, the roles were reversed. It once against hit Barry hard that he didn’t know what her real name was and on impulse he called out to her. “Wither.”

Barry watched her body tense up. The white tablecloth at the table shifted as she clenched it between her fists. Her head whipped around to see who’d spoken and her eyes seemed to glow an even darker green than Barry’d ever seen once they made eye contact.

Barry barely kept from smirking because he completely had the upper hand. He started walking again; her eyes shifted to brown the closer he got to her. Maybe some of his curiosity could be satisfied. Or at least, either that or she exposed herself and put her and her crew in danger. Wither was skillful and deliberate. There was no way she’d blow it all no matter how much she might hate his guts.

Might. It was still very unclear.

He arrived to the table right as the server delivered her drink, which gave him a perfect opportunity to casually grab a seat at the table.

“Oh! Will you also be ordering something to drink?” the server asked.

Before Barry had the chance to speak Wither smoothly responded, “it's okay, he'll be leaving soon.” He wondered if the server was able to hear the malice in Wither's voice. Regardless, the server walked away and Wither moved her sharp eyes towards Barry.

He stretched lazily, as if he didn't have a care in the world. “Funny seeing you here.”

“What the hell are you doing?” she hissed.

“Just checking in like any good friend would.” Barry grinned. “Your hair looks nice. Unexpected, but it works on you.” He watched her pat the top of her wig in a slight panic. Eventually she brought her hands down with a frown. He really wasn't lying, the wavy but short cut made her look softer, more vulnerable. Actually, the last one was likely the fact that he'd never seen her off guard. Still.

“Allen, if you don't leave right now I'll make you regret it.”

“How? You can't use your powers. You already play dirty when we're fighting. So what's left?” He lowered his voice. “Are you gonna spank me?” 

Within seconds Wither reached out to slap him. He caught her wrist before the blow landed. Now this, this was the most furious he had ever seen her. Her eyes had moved from dark green to light green. Barry knew he should fear for his life in this moment but he was still semi-confident that she wouldn't expose herself.

It took moments for her arm to relax; Barry took the cue and let it go. Wither bit her lip for a second before stating “it'd be really bad for your image if I dump this iced coffee all over your head. Just, what do you want from me?” she asked with a sigh. 

Barry hadn't thought this far ahead. All he'd been going for was the opportunity to gloat and see her in a moment outside where she didn't have all control. But now that she'd asked…

“I have some questions.”

“One,” she responded with a flat voice.

“Five,” he countered, knowing that she'd be forced to compromise.

Wither snorted “As if. But fine. Three.” She crossed her arms and slouched into her seat with a pout. Barry knew that this was a farce: she had completely regained her control.

“Okay.” Barry hummed. “One: does Reverb know who I am outside of the costume?”

“No.” 

That's definitely not the answer he expected. Wither and Reverb were a classic duo. Everyone knew that their relationship was more than just professional, and if that was true, why had she kept him in the dark? He wanted her to elaborate but of course, she was going to give him the bare minimum.

“Two: why exactly did you choose this path?”

“No comment.”

“Oh, come on. We live in a world with so many opportunities and paths for metas. There's been so much progress made in the last decade and we're lucky to be alive during this time. And from what I've seen of your powers you could really make a difference.”

“I am making a difference.”

“Right. You murdering and stealing from people is making a positive difference in the world,” he replied with a scoff.

“Look.” Wither leaned forward in her chair. Barry could tell that she was furious but for whatever reason the green stayed at bay. “You think you're so smug while on the side of ‘goodness' and yet you have no clue what harm is done under you and your CCPD buds.”

“If this is about that shooting --”

Wither let out a dark laugh, throwing her head back. “That shooting? You mean the murder of Stephanie Zhang? Oh darling,” she said with a hiss, “that's just the tip of the iceberg.”

Barry felt uneasy. He knew that the department had issues and he absolutely supported the movement to remove Officer Hollis from duty. Especially since she wasn't trained for metahuman crisis diffusion. But the tip of the iceberg?

She continued without being promoted. “So yes. I do this for every murdered meta. I also do this for so much more.”

Barry paused to think. The pair sat quietly.

“Someone died.”

“Excuse me?”

“This passion. Someone died.”

“What part of “I do this for every murdered meta” did you misunderstand?”

“Someone you knew died.”

Wither's eyes grew cold. “Final question.”

“Who was it?”

“We're done here.” Wither pushed her chair back so she could leave. “Have a nice day, Mr. Allen,” she said in a polite - yet completely fake - voice.

“Wait,” Barry said, reaching out as she began to stand up. His hand met hers for a split second but as she pulled away, electricity ran from his fingers to hers. She looked up in shock. “What did you just --”

“Nothing! I swear I didn't do that.” He'd caught her off guard unintentionally, so this was his last shot. “Hey, what's your name?”

Wither looked up from her hand. “You want a name?”

“It doesn't have to be a full name, I won't try to look you up. I just… if I see you in public again, I don't want to come off as threatening. And you know my name.”

She paused for a second as she picked up her bag. Considering how angry he'd made her it wouldn't be a surprise if she told him to fuck off and leave. However.

“Okay, Bartholomew. I'm Ann. Ann West.” With that she turned and walked away. 

Ann, Barry thought. What a cute name.


End file.
